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Record-breaking heat wave grips western United States

A record early heat wave striking the western United States on Friday is a one-in-500-year event and almost certainly the result of human-caused climate change, experts say. The heat has been toppling records this week and is set to continue into the weekend across western cities while expanding eastward. Four locations in the desert area near the California-Arizona border registered 44.4 degrees Celsius on Friday, a US national record for March. The readings were recorded near Yuma and Martinez Lake in Arizona, and around Winterhaven and Ogilby in California. Read: Intense heatwave grips US, triggering record-breaking temperatures Already, 65 cities have recorded new March highs, ranging from Arizona and California to Idaho, Weather.com reported. Death Valley reached 40°C on Thursday, while typically cool and foggy San Francisco tied its historic March record at 29°C. In Colorado, skiers were seen hitting the slopes shirtless. The National Weather Service issued extreme heat warni...
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Rare corpse flower unfurls with rotting flesh odor at London's Kew Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in London recently saw the unfolding of a remarkable but pungent bloom known as the corpse flower on June 18. This plant, scientifically named Amorphophallus titanum or titan arum, is notorious for its brief lifespan of just 24 to 36 hours. Named for its foul odour resembling rotting flesh, the corpse flower emits a scent so strong it can travel hundreds of meters, attracting unconventional pollinators like flesh flies and carrion beetles. This odour is crucial for its reproduction, as the plant may not bloom again for many years. Despite its size—reaching up to 3 meters—the bloom technically consists of numerous small flowers clustered around a central spike called a spadix, which emerges from a purple collar known as a spathe. Interestingly, the odour emitted by the corpse flower can vary during its short flowering period, sometimes resembling excrement or warm garbage rather than the expected scent of decay. Although native to the rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, these rare plants are cultivated in botanical gardens worldwide for their aesthetic appeal and the public interest they generate when they bloom. The first recorded flowering of a corpse flower outside Sumatra occurred at Kew Gardens in 1889.  

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At least 32 miners dead after bridge fails at cobalt site in southeast DR Congo

A bridge collapsed at a cobalt mine in southeast Democratic Republic of Congo killing at least 32 wildcat miners, a regional government official said Sunday. The bridge came down Saturday onto a flooded zone at the mine in Lualaba province, Roy Kaumba Mayonde, the provincial interior minister, told reporters. He said 32 bodies had been recovered and more were being searched for. The DRC produces more than 70 percent of the world supply of cobalt, which is essential for batteries used in electric cars, many laptop computers and mobile phones. More than 200,000 people are estimated to be working in giant illegal cobalt mines in the giant central African country. Local authorities said the bridge collapsed at the Kalando mine, about 42 kilometres (26 miles) southeast of the Lualaba provincial capital, Kolwezi. "Despite a formal ban on access to the site because of the heavy rain and the risk of a landslide, wildcat miners forced their way into the quarry," said Mayonde. He said ...
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US, Philippines kick off joint military drills in South China Sea with 16,000 troops

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Indian devotees splurge on jets, gold idols as Hindu temple opens

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